Minimum

The Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers remarkably high frame rates in Minimum, a third-person shooter that is not particularly demanding by modern standards. The measured data shows this pairing sits at rank 246 out of 3,712 tested combos, placing it well within the top 7% of all configurations. With the CPU offering 16 cores and 24 threads, and the GPU providing 16 GB of GDDR6X memory, this system is clearly built for high-refresh-rate gameplay. The following analysis breaks down exactly how each component contributes to the results, how the combo ranks against other tested systems, and what settings provide the best experience.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz, boosting up to 5.40 GHz, which gives it exceptional single-thread performance for a game like Minimum that relies heavily on frame pacing. The CPU's L3 cache is 30 MB shared, with 2 MB L2 per core and 80 KB L1 per core, providing ample fast memory for game logic and physics calculations.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 13700K shows a clear strength in multi-threaded workloads: it scores 30,745 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 16,292 in Cinebench R20 multi-core. Single-thread performance is equally impressive, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,116 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2,529. For Minimum, which is a 2014-era title with relatively simple AI and physics, these scores translate into virtually no CPU bottleneck at any resolution. The data confirms this: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 356 FPS average, which is a frame rate limited more by the GPU's ability to render frames than by the CPU's ability to feed them.

The 13700K's percentile ranking versus all CPUs is 89, meaning it outperforms 89% of all processors in the benchmark database. Its average benchmark score is 46,881, placing it in close competition with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (46,971, delta of -0.2%) and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (47,022, delta of -0.3%). The nearest rivals also include the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (46,654, delta of +0.5%) and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 (46,653, delta of +0.5%). These tiny deltas indicate that the 13700K is statistically tied with these processors in overall CPU performance, but its high boost clock and strong single-thread scores are what matter most for Minimum's frame generation.

At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 174 FPS, which is still far above any refresh-rate threshold for competitive play. This suggests that even at the highest CPU-intensive settings, the 13700K has enough headroom to keep the GPU fully fed. The Passmark multi-thread score of 45,887 and single-thread score of 4,333 further confirm the CPU's ability to handle both the game's main thread and background tasks without introducing stutter. In summary, the 13700K's 16 cores and high clocks ensure that Minimum's CPU demands are met with massive margin, allowing the RTX 4080 to be the primary determinant of frame rates.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. It operates at a base clock of 2205 MHz and boosts to 2505 MHz, with memory running at 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective). The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Minimum's textures and shaders at any resolution.

The GPU's 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs deliver a raw fill rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is 48.74 TFLOPS, which explains why the GPU can push 356 FPS at 1080p Low without breaking a sweat. In the Passmark G3D benchmark, the RTX 4080 scores 34,457, and its percentile versus all GPUs is 86, meaning it outperforms 86% of all graphics cards in the database.

The RTX 4080's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209 average score, delta of +0.1%), the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828, delta of -1.1%), and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698, delta of -2.6%). These deltas show the RTX 4080 is essentially on par with the 4080 SUPER and slightly behind the AMD options in raw compute benchmarks, but for Minimum the relevant metric is pure rasterization at high frame rates, where the RTX 4080 excels.

The GPU's memory size is particularly relevant at 4K resolution. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the combo averages 61 FPS, which is the lowest measured result but still playable. The 16 GB VRAM is never stressed by Minimum's modest texture requirements, even at Ultra settings. The GPU's pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s ensure that even at 4K, the render pipeline is not starved. The measured FPS data shows a clear GPU-bound trend: as resolution increases, frame rates drop proportionally, indicating that the RTX 4080 is the limiting component at higher resolutions, while the CPU remains underutilized.

FAQ

*Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Minimum?*

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination ranks 246 out of 3,712 tested combos, placing it in the top 7% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The 13700K has an average benchmark score of 46,881, which is only 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (46,971) and 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (47,022). It slightly outperforms the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (46,654) and Intel Xeon w3-2535 (46,653) by 0.5%.

Q: What is the highest average FPS measured for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 356, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is more than double the 4K Ultra result of 61 FPS, highlighting the GPU's scaling behavior across resolutions.

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck the CPU at any resolution?

A: Yes, the data indicates the RTX 4080 becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 356 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 61 FPS, a reduction of over 82%, which is consistent with GPU-bound rendering rather than CPU limitations.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54,247, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54,209, a delta of only 0.1%. For Minimum, this means the two GPUs are effectively identical in performance.

Q: What is the lowest measured FPS in the dataset?

A: The lowest average FPS is 61, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. The minimum FPS recorded in any row is 80, which appears in the 4K Medium row (with an average of 95 FPS).

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 246 out of 3,712 tested combinations places this system in the 93rd percentile of all tested configurations for Minimum. This is a strong result, but it is not at the absolute top, which suggests that a few higher-end combos (likely with more powerful GPUs like the RTX 4090 or newer processors) achieve even higher frame rates. The rank reflects the balance between the 13700K's 89th percentile CPU performance and the RTX 4080's 86th percentile GPU performance.

In practical terms, this rank means the combo outperforms 3,466 other tested configurations, but it is beaten by 245 combos. Given that Minimum is a 2014 title with modest requirements, the rank is more indicative of the hardware's raw capability rather than its optimization for this specific game. The 13700K's nearest CPU rivals all have nearly identical average scores (within 0.5% delta), so the rank is largely driven by the GPU's performance tier.

The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, has a delta of only 0.1%, meaning that swapping to that card would not meaningfully change the combo's rank in Minimum. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB has a higher average score (55,698) but a delta of -2.6%, which is within the margin of error for real-world gaming performance. The data shows this combo is well-positioned for high-refresh-rate monitors at 1440p, and it can handle 4K at playable frame rates with adjusted settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). Each row provides an average FPS, and some rows include minimum and maximum FPS values.

At 1920x1080, the results are:

• Low: 356 FPS average
• Medium: 273 FPS average (minimum 232, maximum 313)
• High: 229 FPS average
• Ultra: 174 FPS average

At 2560x1440, the results are:

• Low: 230 FPS average
• Medium: 176 FPS average (minimum 149, maximum 202)
• High: 148 FPS average
• Ultra: 112 FPS average

At 3840x2160, the results are:

• Low: 124 FPS average
• Medium: 95 FPS average (minimum 80, maximum 109)
• High: 79 FPS average
• Ultra: 61 FPS average

The minimum FPS values are only provided for the Medium preset at each resolution, showing 232 at 1080p, 149 at 1440p, and 80 at 4K. These minimums are within 15-16% of the averages, indicating consistent frame pacing without major stutters. The maximum FPS values at Medium settings show headroom: 313 at 1080p, 202 at 1440p, and 109 at 4K. This suggests that the Medium preset has the most stable frame time distribution, as evidenced by the available min/max data.

The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is substantial. At 1080p, the drop from 356 FPS to 174 FPS represents a 51% reduction, while at 4K, the drop from 124 FPS to 61 FPS is a 51% reduction as well. This consistent percentage drop indicates that the settings presets scale linearly with GPU workload, unaffected by CPU limitations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p gamers with a 240 Hz monitor, the High preset at 229 FPS is the best choice, as it exceeds the refresh rate while providing better visual quality than Medium. The Ultra preset at 174 FPS is also viable for 144 Hz monitors, but High offers a better balance of visual fidelity and frame rate headroom.

For 1440p users, the High preset at 148 FPS is ideal for 144 Hz displays, providing a smooth experience with excellent visual detail. The Medium preset at 176 FPS is better suited for 165 Hz monitors, but the visual quality reduction may not be worth the extra 28 FPS. The Ultra preset at 112 FPS is still playable on 120 Hz monitors, but the data shows High is the sweet spot for most 1440p setups.

At 4K, the Medium preset at 95 FPS (minimum 80, maximum 109) offers the best experience for 60-100 Hz displays. The High preset at 79 FPS is borderline for 60 Hz gaming, while Ultra at 61 FPS is only suitable for 60 Hz panels with no headroom. The Low preset at 124 FPS is unnecessary for 4K, as the visual quality degradation is too severe for the frame rate gain. Overall, the Medium preset at 4K provides the best compromise between visual fidelity and playability, as evidenced by its consistent min/max FPS range.

The data shows that the Medium preset has the most stable frame times across all resolutions, with the only provided min/max values in the dataset. This suggests that Medium is the most predictable preset for maintaining consistent performance, making it the safest recommendation for users who prioritize frame pacing over absolute visual quality.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important information about the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 356 at 1080p to 230 at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and further to 124 at 4K (a 65% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU has enough headroom to feed frames at all resolutions, and the GPU's render time increases with pixel count.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is similar: 174 FPS at 1080p, 112 FPS at 1440p (a 36% reduction), and 61 FPS at 4K (a 65% reduction). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and Ultra settings confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU's performance remains constant regardless of resolution.

The data also shows that the 13700K is not limiting performance even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is pushing 356 FPS. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS at lower resolutions, but the linear scaling from 1080p to 4K indicates the GPU is always the limiting factor. The 4K Low result of 124 FPS is still high, demonstrating that the RTX 4080 has substantial headroom even at the highest resolution.

The transition from 1440p to 4K produces a larger relative drop than from 1080p to 1440p. At High settings, 1440p yields 148 FPS, while 4K yields 79 FPS, a 47% reduction. This steeper decline at higher resolutions is consistent with the GPU's pixel fill rate limits, as the RTX 4080's 280.6 GPixel/s is taxed more heavily as resolution increases. In summary, the resolution scaling data indicates that the RTX 4080 is the limiting component for Minimum, with the 13700K providing ample CPU performance to avoid any bottlenecks even at the lowest resolution and settings.